Historical information

Book review of "Guns and brooches: Australian Army Nursing from the Boer War to the Gulf War" by Jan Bassett.
Jan Bassett painstakingly traced Australian Army nursing through the six major conflicts of the past ninety-three years: Boer War, World War One and Two, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf.
Though nurses have been celebrated throughout literature, in reality the endured low status, appalling work conditions, low pay and occasionally betrayal by their male officers. Such as the army doctors in Papua New Guinea taking the unit's ambulances on the approach of the Japanese, leaving the nurses and wounded behind.
In an incident during World War Two, British army officers in charge of a hospital ship disembarked the entire contingent of Australian nurses in Indonesia, without any resources, for disputing the distributing of medical supplies and drugs to their patients onboard. Also during World War Two nurses were increasingly given honourary officer status, with requirements for them to abide by the disciplines of the army, while lacking many privileges of their rank.
Until comparatively recently the same privileges and facilities open to returned servicemen were not extended to army nurses and there are many documented cases of extreme poverty. But times are changing, with recognition, status and equal pay now here to stay.

Physical description

A large newspaper clipping of a title, six columns of text and a black and white photo of women in what appears to be an army hospital, some are standing, some are seated and some are laying down. Some of the women cleary in nurse's uniform but others don't appear to be.